KC Reporter

A former deputy sheriff and school resource officer from Camden County, Missouri, has been charged in federal court with distributing child pornography. Darrin Marshall Skinner, 49, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Missouri, on Thursday, May 9.

Skinner was employed by Camden County as a deputy sheriff and assigned as a school resource officer in the Macks Creek School District. Before his employment with Camden County, he served as a police officer in Osage Beach, Missouri.

The investigation began when the social media network MeWe reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Cyber Tip Line that a user had uploaded images of child pornography. The user was later identified as Skinner. On June 7, 2023, the report was sent to the Camden County Sheriff’s Department. Due to Skinner's association with the department, the case was transferred to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Investigators discovered that the email address allegedly used by Skinner belonged to several sexually themed social groups. On August 1, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant and interviewed Skinner at his residence.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, MeWe had previously reported to the Cyber Tip Line in 2020 about a user identified as Skinner allegedly uploading multiple images of child sexual abuse through its chat feature. It is alleged that Skinner sent child sexual abuse material on multiple occasions which included images of children under age 12 and a pre-school age child.

The affidavit also states that Skinner shared photos of prepubescent girls from his community with other users on MeWe. He reportedly modified these images to make them more sexually suggestive. However, none of these images contained local minors involved in pornography. Investigators believe that some photos of local minors were obtained from social media since they depicted children dressed in gymnastics or dance attire associated with a local gymnastics studio. These images were exchanged during sexually charged chats between Skinner and other MeWe users.

The charge contained in this complaint is an accusation, not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, which will determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa A. Pierce and was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Digital Forensic Investigative Unit and the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.